District One girls’ basketball: Villa Maria storms back to halt upset bid in OT

Malvern >> Battling back from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter, Villa Maria used a full-court press to turn the tables, holding Penncrest scoreless for the next 9 1/2 minutes, and prevailing, 48-40, in overtime in the District 1 Class 5A tournament opener Tuesday evening.
The third-seeded Hurricanes were trailing No. 14 Penncrest, 32-22, with 2:24 left in the third quarter when Villa Maria head coach Kathy McCartney called a timeout.
“I told the team that it was going to be the defense that turns the game around,” said McCartney. “And, to their credit, my kids didn’t quit.”
For the next 9 1/2 minutes, Villa Maria went on a 15-0 run, gradually chipping away at Penncrest’s lead, and cashing in on some of the Lions’ turnovers. When Villa sophomore guard Julia Samar hit a 3-pointer from the left side with 2:32 left in regulation, it was the Hurricanes’ first lead of the second half.
Villa senior guard Murrin Tague then hit a trey from the right corner to give the Hurricanes a 36-32 lead, but with three seconds left in regulation and the hosts leading 38-35, an inside basket by Penncrest sophomore Megan Arndt, coupled with a free throw, sent the game into overtime.
Three minutes into OT, Villa broke a 40-40 tie with a 3-pointer from the right side by freshman guard Morgan Warley. Fourteen seconds later, Warley was fouled and made both free throws to give the Hurricanes a solid cushion.
Villa Maria freshman forward Paige Lauder (13 points, 17 rebounds) said, “I felt relieved when [the final buzzer sounded]. This was a scary game, and we got sloppy with the ball at times. At halftime, the seniors told us that this was not going to be their last game.”
With the victory, the Hurricanes (16-9) advance to the second round, where they will host No. 6 Bishop Shanahan, which defeated 11th seed Pottsgrove, 43-39, Tuesday.
That game will be at 4:30 Friday.
The whole night wasn’t a comeback struggle for the Hurricanes. In the first quarter, Villa rolled to a 15-5 lead, as both Lauder and senior forward Marissa Picinich scored several times underneath. The Hurricanes appeared to be cruising even though they was missing star sophomore forward Abby Walheim, who was sidelined with a foot injury (McCartney said results of Walheim’s MRI should be known by Wednesday).
The second and third quarters basically belonged to Penncrest (10-13). In the second quarter, Lion junior guard Katherine Mullaney exploded for eight points, getting inside several times for baskets.
“[Mullaney] makes us go,” said Penncrest head coach Bob Higgins. “We have a young team, and the girls really came through in the second and third quarters. [Junior] Julia Eckels (who had four steals) did a good job creating turnovers, and when she got hurt on a layup in the third quarter, that hurt us, as we go seven deep. And Villa is a good team.”
Arndt broke free of the Villa Maria press a couple of times for layups, giving the visitors a 32-22 lead with 2:24 in the third quarter, but the Lions then struggled with the Hurricanes’ press and did not score another point until sophomore guard Kylie Chelo hit a trey with 35 seconds left in regulation.
Meanwhile, Villa Maria mounted a comeback — but it was a slow comeback, as the Hurricanes were having turnover problems of their own.
“We were a little sloppy in the third quarter, and we struggled in the second quarter,” said McCartney. “And my hat’s off to Penncrest — they played with lots of heart, lots of emotion tonight.”
The Hurricanes also struggled from the free throw line, making only 15 of 35 attempts from the charity stripe.
With the visitors leading 32-22, Villa Maria went to the free throw line eight times in the next four minutes – and made four of them, to cut Penncrest’s lead to 32-26. Lauder (with four fouls) broke inside for a field goal with 5:58 left to make it 32-28. The Hurricanes’ two freshmen, Lauder and Warley, both made late contributions despite carrying four fouls.
“They [Warley and Lauder] played smart at the end of the game,” said McCartney.
Samar converted a free throw with 1:20 left in regulation to give the Hurricanes a 37-32 lead, and Villa Maria took its full-court press off.
“I took my foot off the gas pedal [on defense] the last minute and a half, because I knew we had people on foul trouble,” said McCartney.
Chelo then hit Penncrest’s only trey of the night to make it 37-35. Villa’s Picinich was fouled (and made one of two free throws) to give the hosts a 38-35 lead with 15.6 seconds left.
Arndt worked her way inside with three seconds left in regulation, made a basket and drew a foul. She swished her free throw attempt through the net to tie the score at 38-38.

For Penncrest, Mullaney and Arndt each finished with 12 points, and junior forward Grace Harding chipped in with 11 points.
Higgins said, “Villa is a good team, and I’m proud of my kids’ effort. They’ve worked hard every day in practice, we have a young team and we will continue to get better next season.”

Villa Maria Academy 48, Penncrest 40
Penncrest: Mullaney 3 6-7 12, Arndt 5 2-3 12, Chelo 1 0-0 3, Eckels 1 0-3 2, Harding 2 7-8 11. Totals: 12 15-21 40.
Villa Maria: Samar 2 3-9 8, Picinich 2 2-4 6, Tague 2 0-0 5, Lauder 5 3-8 13, Warley 2 4-9 9, DiDonato 1 2-2 4, Gillin 1 1-3 3. Totals: 15 15-35 48.
Penncrest 5 15 12 6 2 – 40
Villa Maria 15 4 6 13 10 – 48
3-point goals: Chelo, Warley, Tague, Samar.